Kenyan teacher in 30-year court battle to get maintenance cash from husband

NAIROBI: A man who declined to pay for maintenance of his seven children and later dispossessed them now faces a criminal investigation.

The case between Immaculate Wanjine, formerly a teacher at Kiambaa Primary School, and her separated husband Eustace Mburu, has been in court from 1985.

Ms Wanjine took Mr Mburu to the Magistrates’ Court for failing to support his seven children, the last one being three years then.

He, however, told the court that he could not afford to raise them up as he was a man of no means.

Mburu, a former employee with East Africa Industries, was slapped with a fine of Sh259,940 for forfeiting his duty.

And later, in 2000, the court ordered his two pieces of land to be sold in a bid to settle the maintenance debt.

According to court papers seen by The Standard, Mburu failed to honour his obligation and reached a point where the court varied orders to allow him to pay the amount in two installments of Sh100,000 each.

His wife says that she has never received a penny from him.

The case moved from the Magistrates’ Court to the Court of Appeal, which still ruled in favour of the woman.

By then, Mburu had retired from Unilever.

Appeal judges Otieno Kwach, Samuel Bosire and Moijo ole Keiwua in their decision in 2000 posed: “Do you stop caring for your children when your income stops? Does your duty end up there? The order directed you to help them financially until they are self-supporting. This lady should be in class now. We will not allow the children to suffer for nothing.”

The judges also awarded Wanjine Sh5,000 in court fees but she claims that the monies have not been paid to date.

Wanjine also claims that the maintenance monies amount to close to a Sh1 million in terms of accrued interest. According to the mother of seven, her estranged husband disposed of the pieces of property despite the attachment order.

She produced demand letters from her lawyers and confirmation from the office of the Director for Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko that her husband had committed a criminal act by disposing of the attached land.

“Upon careful perusal of the inquiry file, which has been submitted to our offices, I did find that the said Muthee Kirimo and Eustace Mburu were criminally liable, but before I direct their prosecution I have sent my comprehensive brief together with the duplicate police file to the Director of Public Prosecutions for directions,” the response letter from Principal Prosecution Counsel E P Emooria read in part.

She claims that the case has hit a snag and wants her husband to pay the debt owed to his children.